


Betrayed & Afraid

by ChocolateCapCookie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, Canon Compliant, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hologram Tony Stark, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Irondad, Not A Fix-It, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, spideyson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:53:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21503314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateCapCookie/pseuds/ChocolateCapCookie
Summary: Tony visits Peter after his death, because how could he ever leave his favorite protégé alone?After what Peter's been through however, Tony shouldn't expect him to welcome him with open arms.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 130
Collections: For All Your Irondad/Spiderson Needs!





	Betrayed & Afraid

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [@ironkrispies's insanely popular fanart](https://www.instagram.com/p/B0jPJ1QF0ID/) on Instagram. Check her out, and give her a follow! I know this is probably overdone to hell and back, but I loved the art so much, I had to write this.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you like it!

_I have to get away. I have to get home. Get away. Home. Away. Home…._

Peter’s mind was a jumbled, whirling mess, shock and fear and anger and disbelief and even betrayal floating around and threatening to choke him from within. But looking around at the crowds around him, two thoughts stood out clearly

He had to get away.

And he had to get home.

With trembling hands, he tightened his mask around his neck and web-swung away, avoiding people’s shocked stares and awed whispers, forcing himself to ignore MJ’s calls from behind him. He felt hot tears slide down his face, spreading awkwardly given the tightness of the Spider-Man mask, but he didn’t pause to wipe them away, swinging blindly between New York’s skyscrapers.

How could Beck _do_ that? How was it even possible to betray someone _twice_ in the same week? And he’d actually liked the man, coming to see him almost like another father figure. How could Peter have been such a horrible judge of character?

Peter was so lost in his thoughts and disoriented by the tears now sliding all over and behind the mask (god, the pimples he was sure to get a few days from now were going to be horrible) that he barely noticed that he’d stopped swinging and started running instead. His mind only registered it when he started feeling soft grass under his feet instead of the usual concrete and gravel of the city.

It was almost like his body was on autopilot, taking him somewhere even he didn’t know. It hit him a few seconds later, though when he reached the edge of the city, that he was headed for the ruins of the Avengers’ Compound. He wasn’t shocked; if anything, he was surprised he hadn’t thought of it sooner. The Compound...it had been like a second home to him. He’d gone up there every weekend he could, and even now he could see it so clearly in his mind’s eye: Happy grumpily greeting him but giving him an extra hard hug as the only outside proof of how much he adored the boy, assorted Avengers coming up to him and clapping him on the back or ruffling his hair, and most of all…

 _No_ . said Peter to himself, firmly, even as a few more tears slipped down his cheeks. _Don’t think about him. He’s gone. He’s never coming back. He was just another father figure that left you._

He kept running until he was at least thirty minutes out of the city, where he could vaguely see the monument that had been built as a tribute to the Avengers on the site of that last battle. Peter had never seen it in person before, only in pictures and news broadcasts; he could never bear to go back to the place afterwards.

So why was he going back now?

He refused to think about it until he reached the compound, until the statue was right in front of his face. He stopped abruptly, panting, worn-out from his exertions and the mental strain of the day. He pulled off his mask, knowing he was alone, and looked around him, taking in the scene that he saw in his nightmares every night, and yet was so painfully unfamiliar.

The Avengers’ Compound had been reduced to almost nothing, he knew, and yet it was a shock to his system to see it like this. Peter’s eyes roamed around the horizon, taking in the piles of rubble and the stubborn stains of blood and grime streaking the ground, trying and unable to stop the memories of the battle crossing his mind.

He’d known going in, of course, that five years had passed; Dr. Strange had made that quite clear. However, it had barely felt like a minute, and Mr. Stark had looked so much older _._ He looked so tired and weak and just... _old_ , that Peter’s heart had simultaneously shattered and grown with love and respect for his mentor. And then Mr. Stark had pulled him into a hug, their first hug ever ( _and also your last,_ his mind supplied cruelly) and Peter had those few moments of peace, when he just _knew_ that everything was going to be okay, that he was loved, that Mr. Stark would saved the day. He pulled away from the hug, almost tearing up, but determined to make his pseudo-father proud. After the battle, he’d make sure to hug Mr. Stark for longer.

Of course, he never got the chance to do that.

And now, recalling his mentor, as well as everyone else who had died or lost part of themselves in the battle, the fact that he had somehow survived when someone as great as Mr. Stark had to die, Mysterio’s double betrayal... everything hit him at once, and Peter collapsed to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. He hid his face in his hands, not even trying to stop the tears. What was the point? He’d already lost Tony, the Avengers, a friend in Beck and now his secret identity. What more did he have to lose?

Peter had no idea how long he was on his knees, but with his eyes teary and screwed-up, and his face in his hands, it took him a moment to notice a buzzing blue light in front of him. He shut his eyes even tighter, wanting to be alone in his misery.

“Hey, kid.”

Nothing but the shock of hearing that familiar voice could have pulled Peter out of his grief. He sat up, a look of surprise on his face intermingled with fear. For the life of him, Peter couldn’t figure out how or why a holographic projection of Mr. Stark had appeared in front of him. Was he hallucinating? 

“Mr. Stark?” he asked, cautiously, his voice cracking from all the tears he’d shed.

“The one and only!” smiled the hologram, and Peter almost broke down again, seeing that well-known smile, the little crinkle on Mr. Stark’s forehead that usually only appeared when he was with Peter. He’d missed this more than he cared to remember.

“It really is me, Pete,” the hologram continued. “I downloaded my consciousness - yes that’s a thing, don’t ask me the million questions Morgan did - onto this digital framework before I, well…” Hologram Tony Stark laughed nervously and rubbed his neck, “- decided to go all hero-y and kill myself. I know this seems impossible, Pete, but c’mon, this is me, _Tony Stark_ , we’re talkin’ about. I actually like the idea of living as a glorified AI forever. It’s a good thing you came back here and found me,” finished hologram-Tony, and he flashed Peter that brilliant, proud, smile he’d reserved just for the boy, and suddenly Peter couldn’t take it. Not anymore.

“Stop,” he croaked, holding a weak hand up. The hologram looked at him confusedly.

“Peter?” started hologram-Tony, but Peter cut him off.

“I let you trick me once,” he said, his voice breaking. “You’re not even real, are you?” Peter felt a fresh wave of tears flow down his cheeks, he heard Mr. Stark call his name out softly, but he ignored it, he ignored everything, fueled only by his grief and anger.

“Using Mr. Stark’s tech to kill innocent people was bad enough,” said Peter, keeping eye contact with Mr. Stark ( _that’s not him, it’s not really him,_ he had to keep repeating to himself), “But making me believe he’s alive? Creating this stupid, fake ‘hologram’? That’s a new low, even for you.”

“Kid…” started Mr.- the hologram again, his voice breaking. Could a hologram’s voice break? Peter didn’t know and he had no intention of listening long enough to find out.

“Haven't you done enough?” he cried, tears blinding his vision. He wiped them away angrily, trying to control his voice. “Was murdering a million people, trying to kill everyone I love, framing me for murder and then exposing my identity not enough of a thrill for you? How much more do you want to do, _Mysterio_?” Peter spat that last word out with as much venom as he could inject in it.

“Underoos,” said the hologram again, softly, kindly, a perfect imitation of Mr. Stark’s voice, and Peter fell onto his knees, sobbing.

“You can’t fool me anymore, Beck,” he cried, not making eye contact with the image in front of him. He knew if he looked, he’d break down and rush into Mr. Stark’s arms for a hug, Mysterio be damned. “You’ve done enough. I...please, just...leave me alone!” Not looking back, Peter got to his feet and ran in the opposite direction, leaving his mask behind. What did he need it for now anyway? Everyone knew who he was. Peter ran away, crying harder than he’d ever had, wishing for a moment that Mr. Stark really was there. Peter had never needed him as badly as he did right then.

Behind him, in the ruins of the Avengers’ Compound, at the site of his death, Tony Stark stood confused, watching his boy run away from him. “Kid…” he said to himself, a single tear sliding down his cheek. “ _What the hell happened to you after I was gone?_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> this is where the original art ends, so I figured it was a good place to stop. That being said, I do have a few ideas on how to continue this, so if you guys would like to see more, please let me know! Let me know if you guys have any ideas as well, because I'll admit my stuff isn't that fleshed out haha.
> 
> Again, follow [@ironkrispies](https://www.instagram.com/ironkrispies/) on instagram, because she is so amazingly talented and deserves more recognition.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I love you 3000!


End file.
